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Fred Davis will always remember his first NFL touchdown, but the Redskins need him to be a complete tight end. |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
ASHBURN--
Malcolm Kelly spent the Washington Redskins' bye week at his childhood home in Texas, eating his mother's home-cooked fried chicken and waffles, savoring the country air and, in his words, "just chillin.'"Rock Cartwright returned home to Texas to visit his daughter and witness his brother commemorate his 10th wedding anniversary by renewing his vows.
And then there was Fred Davis, whose bye week wasn't a vacation at all.
Oh, it was supposed to be. Davis booked his flight back to the West coast and even had a ticket to attend Saturday night's game between Southern Cal, his alma mater, and Oregon.
He scrapped those plans, though, after tight end Chris Cooley broke his ankle in a loss to Philadelphia on Oct. 26. Cooley's absence means that Davis will be the Redskins' first-string tight end for at least the next month, and he is determined to be a worthy replacement.
So while Davis' teammates left town to get away from this nightmarish season for a few days, he stayed here to work with tight ends coach Scott Wachenheim. From Wednesday through Friday for 21/2 hours each morning, Wachenheim put Davis through a variety of drills designed to fortify his pass blocking and minimize any drop-off from Cooley, one of Washington's most valuable players.
"I knew I had a responsibility to stand in for my teammates and, hopefully, get better as a blocker, too," Davis said yesterday.
The Redskins returned to practice yesterday missing another valuable piece of their offense. Cooley leads the team with 29 catches and two touchdowns. And beyond his pass-catching abilities, he is a serviceable blocker.
Davis, on the other hand, hasn't proven that he is capable of consistently blocking effectively. He thrived as a receiver after replacing Cooley against Philadelphia (eight catches, 78 yards and a touchdown), but he also surrendered two sacks.
The Redskins' pass protection problems already are magnified because of season-ending injuries to offensive linemen Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas, and they can't afford another drop-off. So Wachenheim and Davis took the practice field at 10 a.m. for three straight days last week.
"We went back to fundamentals," Wachenheim said. "It was what you would do with a Pop Warner kid on Day One."
They worked on everything from Davis' stance to his hand placement to his line of sight. They used cones and dummies with the goal of getting blocking "ingrained in his thinking," Wachenheim said.
That alone requires a significant adjustment. Davis was primarily a pass-catching tight end at Southern Cal, and its offense didn't require him to block much.
But blocking is part of the job description for an NFL tight end, a fact Davis has learned the hard way.
Giving up a sack "is the worst feeling," he said. "I hate it. And the guy over there is flexing on you. I don't like that."
The desire to avoid that sensation is one factor that kept Davis here last week. And while the notion of a millionaire athlete eschewing vacation to do extra work might not impress many folks in the work force, it's a significant step for Davis.
He has been maligned for his work ethic ever since he slept through a minicamp practice just days after being drafted in the spring of 2008. Teammates consider Davis' decision to work overtime to be an auspicious development.
"Fred has finally learned how the NFL works, how to work in the NFL, how to prepare in the NFL," center Casey Rabach said. "It's his time to shine now. He has got the chance. We're expecting big things from him."
"It was more commitment than I've seen from him," Wachenheim added. "Fred has always been coachable, but now he understands: I'm going to be on the field. He was more focused, more intense and more committed."
Whether the three extra sessions make a difference, though, remains to be seen. Davis believes he's capable as long as his blocking technique is sound.
"I'm strong enough to block somebody," he said. "I'm not a weak guy. I put up a lot of weight in the weight room. It don't matter how strong you are, if a guy gets under your pads, he's going to win."
Confidence is also imperative, Wachenheim said. That will take time, and it must be earned.
"I'm not a good blocker yet, but I know I can be," Davis said. "Sometimes your role changes, and I'm ready to adjust to it. I think really I can do it."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
